MIT abolishes mandatory DEI statements in faculty hiring
‘We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don't work,’ MIT’s President Sally Kornbluth said.
‘Other university leaders should follow suit to avoid compelling faculty adherence to specific political viewpoints and compromising both academic freedom and free speech on campus,’ the free speech group FIRE wrote.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will no longer require diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements from faculty applicants.
Speaking of the decision, MIT President Sally Kornbluth said: “My goals are to tap into the full scope of human talent, to bring the very best to MIT, and to make sure they thrive once here. We can build an inclusive environment in many ways, but compelled statements impinge on freedom of expression, and they don’t work.”
[RELATED: University of Florida fires all DEI employees, eliminates department]
The free speech advocacy group, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), praised the decision, writing that MIT’s elimination of DEI statements will allow “candidates to teach and research without needing to pass an ideological litmus test just to get their foot in the door.”
“Other university leaders should follow suit to avoid compelling faculty adherence to specific political viewpoints and compromising both academic freedom and free speech on campus,” FIRE continued.
FIRE has previously criticized DEI statements, saying they can “too easily function as ideological litmus tests that threaten employment or advancement opportunities,” an opinion shared by others.
[RELATED: This college listed ‘commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion’ as qualification for women’s basketball coach]
MIT is not the only university to jettison DEI statements. On April 17, the Kansas Board of Regents voted unanimously to forbid the state’s public universities from requiring DEI statements as part of the application or promotion process.
In July, Georgia also forbade its public institutions of higher education from forcing applicants to write DEI statements.
An MIT spokesperson told Campus Reform: “The change was made at the direction of President Kornbluth, with the support of the Provost, Chancellor, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, and all six academic deans.”
Follow Ben Mincey on X and Instagram.
